The Ventures are so much better than The Shadows. They've had plenty of naff moments, some of which are on another CD in my collection, but at their best in the '60s they were very, very good. And this album has some of their best stuff.
The Original is not an original album; it's a compilation of the original tracks that made their name in the early '60s, released in the '90s with a suitably retro-looking cover. It's got two versions of Walk Don't Run, probably their signature tune, both of which are superior to versions they produced later (the band are still touring and, I think, recording).
I first came to love Walk Don't Run seventeen years before I bought a Ventures' album, in the version by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra — it's the most catchy, energetic and accessible track on the Orchestra's second album.
Why did I buy this? I started to learn guitar in 2001, and Walk Don't Run was on the CD that came with the Guitar for Dummies book. I loved it, my guitar teacher knew it well (as he did Perfidia, also included on this album), so I looked up their recordings.
This album also has the original version of the Hawaii Five-O theme. Unlike so many TV theme tunes, it's not kitsch, it's not a 'guilty pleasure', it's just fantastic.
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